How to Defend Against Sex Crime Charges in North Carolina

Sex crimes are some of the most serious offenses you be charged with under NC criminal law. In addition to significant jail time, you will suffer the public stigma associated with being a convicted sex offender. Unlike other crimes, for certain sex offenses, you will have to continue to register as a sex offender even after you have served your probation, prison sentence and/or paid your fines.

The sex crimes lawyers at Randall & Stump, Criminal Defense Attorneys help people in the Charlotte area defend themselves during sex crime cases by providing aggressive, detail-oriented legal representation. We can help you level the playing field as we fight for you to obtain a fair result. To schedule a free and confidential consultation of your case, contact us today at (980) 237-4579.

Challenge the Facts and the Evidence

It’s important to note that any successful defense requires that you aggressively challenge the prosecution’s case. The prosecution will try to convince you that their case is ironclad, but this is rarely true. Concrete evidence can be very difficult to obtain in many sex crime cases. Witnesses often tell the police what they think they saw, not what they actually saw. The officer’s personal bias may shade their own version of events. You may have been charged with a sex crime just because you were there, and the police have no other suspects. These are the reasons why it is incredibly important to aggressively challenge the evidence in your case, no matter which defense you and your Charlotte sex crimes attorney may raise.

Innocence

The most obvious defense to any crime is innocence, and this is of course also true for sex crimes cases. The prosecution must prove that you are guilty – you are not required to prove your innocence. As a result, you do not need to introduce any evidence to argue that you are innocent.

You should introduce any evidence or raise any argument that you may have that proves your innocence. One common way to assert this is to prove that you were not with the victim or present at the place and time the crime occurred. This is commonly referred to as an “alibi,” and will require that you prove where you were at the time the crime allegedly occurred.

Another common defense in sex crime cases is to argue that the victim has misidentified you as the perpetrator. You might argue that due to poor lighting or other circumstances, the victim could not have been able to get a clear view of their attacker. Alternatively, you might argue that the police mishandled the identification process, essentially suggesting to the attacker that you were the perpetrator.

Consent

Consent is an available defense in sex crime cases where an element of the crime is that it occurred against the victim’s will. With this defense, you are admitting that the sex act occurred, but that it was consensual. A consent defense will require you to expose your private affairs, and can therefore be embarrassing. It is, however, far better than being a convicted sex offender if it is successful. That said, it can be difficult to prove consent, and it may come down to who the jury is more likely to believe.

Insanity

In some sex crime cases, it can be argued that the defendant was unable to appreciate or understand their actions due to some kind of mental impairment. This defense carries a lot of risk, as you are conceding that the act occurred and that it was against the victim’s will. In addition, it will require expert testimony to prove your mental health at the time the act took place, and how your condition prevented you from understanding the consequences of your actions.

Contact Our Charlotte Sex Crimes Attorneys for Help

If you’ve been charged with a sex crime, don’t let the prosecution persuade you that you have no hope or talk you into pleading guilty. The experienced Charlotte criminal defense attorneys at Randall & Stump, Criminal Defense Attorneys know how to challenge the prosecution’s case. We believe that your future is worth protecting, and so we strive to provide our clients with highly-attentive legal representation. Contact us today at (980) 237-4579 to schedule a free case consultation.